


With you I’m safe

by SlyKing



Series: Winter Prompt Challenge [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Asexual Bruce Banner, Cuddling, Established Relationship, Fire, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Overthinking, Reading and cuddling by the fire, Winter Prompt Challenge, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:26:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28390866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlyKing/pseuds/SlyKing
Summary: "I’m booooored!" exclaimed Tony for the tenth time today. Bruce rolled his eyes, but an amused smile still stretched the corner of his lips. “Bruuuuce how did people survive before the invention of the Internet?”"They took care of themselves differently," Bruce gently replied, turning a page in his book.“I’ll tell you, it was boredom that made them die young!”
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Tony Stark
Series: Winter Prompt Challenge [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2040085
Kudos: 20





	With you I’m safe

**Author's Note:**

> Winter Prompt Challenge on the tumblr of [witcher and his bard](https://witcher-and-his-bard.tumblr.com/post/634710612632551424/winter-prompt-challenge-i-wanted-to-make-a)  
> 3.Reading & cuddling by the fire
> 
> English is not my first langage!  
> Sorry for the grammar or conjugation errors that may result... Feel free to report any mistake! :)
> 
> Comments always make me extremely happy! ❤

It had snowed all afternoon. Now, only the thick white layer that covered the whole landscape remained. Night had fallen an hour earlier, enveloping the countryside with a veil of silence and calm. Bruce enjoyed these moments of peace and quiet. These days, they were very rare. So he took advantage of that vacation as much as possible.

"I’m booooored!" exclaimed Tony for the tenth time today. Bruce rolled his eyes, but an amused smile still stretched the corner of his lips. “Bruuuuce how did people survive before the invention of the Internet?”  
"They took care of themselves differently," Bruce gently replied, turning a page in his book.  
“I’ll tell you, it was boredom that made them die young!”

Bruce gently shook his head but did not reply. He merely turned another page of his book and plunged back into his reading. Silence returned for a few minutes at most. Bruce had to admit that the situation was not ideal for Tony who had to keep his mind busy. Another thing they were drastically different about. Bruce, on the other hand, was constantly trying to clear his head, trying to think less while paying attention to the smallest details. The apparent calmness he exuded was the result of a long work on himself. The sessions of meditation and control of his emotions had been as beneficial as harmful. One did not go without the other. A life of hiding necessarily made Bruce nervous and he was always on the alert.  
Since he and Tony had met, and they had become friends (more than friends, now), Bruce felt more serene, even safe. He even managed to fully relax without getting ready to flee at the slightest slam against the door.

“Bruuuuuce…” Tony’s plaintive voice drew him from his thoughts. “What are you thinking?”  
Bruce opened his mouth and realized that he had been on the same page for a few minutes. He cleared his throat and shook his head.  
“About… Nothing, really.”

Tony arched an eyebrow and Bruce saw his skeptical look. He stood up and leaned over to take his book from him. Bruce let him go without any resistance and breathed a sigh. He straightened his head enough to return the kiss that Tony laid on his lips. It was always strange to feel loved by this man. Not that Bruce was ever impressed with Tony; he had a lot of respect for his work, knew of course who he was for a long time, but never felt the need to feel uncomfortable because Tony was famous, or rich. What Bruce understood less was the way Tony had taken an interest in him. Bruce knew he was smart enough to have several doctorates, but he had never considered himself _interesting_. For work, maybe. But as a person?  
Tony’s hand on his cheek brought him back to reality once again. Bruce gave him a shy little smile before trying to get his book back. Tony raised him above their heads and addressed him with his most mischievous look:

“Nah, Dr. Banner, I gave you time to take care of your books; now take care of me! You’ve been letting me agonize on this bed for a little too long.”

Another thing that Bruce did not understand; Tony was known for his playboy side. For his many conquests. Of course, it was something other than the image he had long let appear, that mask of excess and carelessness, but still. Bruce did not understand how Tony Stark could have preferred to be stuck with him rather than go elsewhere. Bruce could no longer have sexual raports since the Other … That _Hulk_ … was part of his life. Of him. It was too risky, and Bruce had never been a big fan of intimate relationships anyway. He didn’t miss them and he didn’t even see himself doing it again. Tony knew it. And yet.... He was there. Because it wasn’t about sex. It was about something else.

Bruce felt Tony’s weight on his knees and barely straightened his head this time. Instead, he put it on his chest. He felt Tony’s metal heart against his forehead (at least, the metal part). He heard it beating underneath. Bruce closed his eyes and sighed as he felt Tony’s hand in his hair.

"'Um... _I have a taste for obedience. Mine and others._ Your book is starting very badly, how did you manage to be halfway? _Overestimating oneself is not a sin, it is an unforgivable fault._ Now, buddy, if men did not overestimate themselves they would not do half of what they accomplish every day!”  
"And you know what you’re talking about," Bruce muttered against his chest.  
“No, I don’t see it at all. I value myself right: priceless and incalculable.”

Bruce laughed before closing his arms around Tony to get closer to him. Bruce was rarely tactile, the one that came to him from time to time. Like tonight. They were fine, by the fire. Tony’s voice and remarks about the book were soothing, reassuring.

“ _You twist your feet as you stretch your neck towards the sky,_ ” continued Tony, who burst out. "It’s called intellectual because it invents ready-made expressions? My word! What do they write these days. _Free Spirits, those deserving to be, I count them on the fingers of a burned hand. The others, the rest of us, it is better to close it; with our eyes down, let us accomplish the task that is assigned to us._ It's depressing!" concludes Tony by closing the book with a dry slap. “Ah, that’s because it’s French. Don’t look any further.” said he looked at the back cover. He then threw the book on the bed and laid a kiss on Bruce’s head. “No wonder you pull a head like that with these readings. Next time, let me give you advice.”

Bruce shook his head slightly before straightening it to cross his companion’s eyes. He arched an eyebrow.

“Because you can read more than five minutes without being bored?”  
"Hey!" Tony looked shocked and kissed him again. Bruce closed his eyes feeling his heart racing and passed his arms around Tony’s neck.  
"Thank you," he whispered against his lips. Tony silenced him with a small gesture of his hand.  
“You think too much, Dr. Banner. It’s not normally a problem, but it becomes a problem when you start to have a bad opinion of yourself.”  
“Uh. Sorry.”  
“You can be; if you start to think badly of yourself what will I do? I despise all those who have the audacity to not like you. And I cannot love and despise you at the same time!”  
Bruce laughed a little.  
“This is ridiculous, you know it?”  
"I’m ridiculous!?" Tony falsely offended.  
“Yes, but thank you. Thank you, Tony…”  
“Aw, come on, I’m gonna have a big head!”  
“You already have it.”  
“You are so cruel.”  
“Or is it honest?”

Tony had a funny little laugh before putting his finger on Bruce’s nose.

"It must be in one of your books about personal development, right? In a relationship we bring each other something, and blah, blah, blah. That it’s even more true in a couple, and blah, blah. Don’t think you’re not bringing me anything. Don’t put words on what you mean to me.”

It was so unexpected, so rare to hear Tony speak so frankly. And yet he was himself all at once. Bruce burst a nervous laugh and passed a hand through his hair, his heart so tender that it was likely to disintegrate.

"Apply your own advice and we’ll talk about it again," replied Bruce. "Because I feel the same way about you."  
"Aw look at us! Two stupid romantics. Don’t tell people, because I have standards."  
“I promise I won’t say anything. I want to keep the Romantic Tony for me, in this lost local area, on a winter night. I will be jealous that someone else knows this truth.”

They laughed in the heart, like two idiots, and remained thus for a moment, one against the other, close to the fire, in silence. And Tony didn’t dare break the moment, he didn’t even have time to feel bored. In Bruce’s arms, he felt safe.

**Author's Note:**

> The book excerpts in italics are from _Manaus_ by **Dominique Forma**
> 
> Thanks for reading ❤


End file.
